Field Hockey

Burris Named CAC Woman of the Year Nominee

Jun 18, 2013

YORK, Pa. - Wesley College senior multi-sport standout Tristin Burris, named last week as the Capital Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was selected by the CAC Directors of Athletics as the conference's 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year program candidate.

A native of Camden, Del., Burris is one of 455 nominees from all three NCAA Divisions of colleges and universities for the 22nd annual NCAA Woman of the Year award, which honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Of those nominees, 214 participated in Division I, 90 participated in Division II, and 151 participated in Division III athletics.

To be eligible for the award, female student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2013 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the 2013 summer term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50.

Four national finalists have represented the CAC in the NCAA Woman of the Year competition since 1996, including Goucher's Michele Mohlman (1996), Mary Washington's Melissa Block (2003), Goucher's Stephanie LaGue (2005) and Salisbury's Sue Ackermann (2008).

Burris is the first Wesley student-athlete to be selected as the CAC's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. She was also Wesley's first CAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Burris is a media arts major with a 3.98 grade point average. She was a member of Wesley's Dean's List or President's List every semester. She is a three-time Capital One Academic All-District selection, a four-time NFHCA All-Academic team member and several other academic all-star teams.

In field hockey, she totaled nine goals and seven assists in 89 career games, helping the Wolverines to appear in three CAC Championship games and gain four ECAC Tournament bids. In lacrosse, she started all 48 games in the last three seasons, compiling 13 goals, one assist, 71 ground balls, 63 draw controls and caused 29 turnovers.

For the Wesley cross country team, she was a five-time CAC Runner of the Week, won one individual race title and boasts the second-fastest time in the 5K in school history as well as the sixth-fastest time in the 6K. For the WC track and field teams, she finished fifth in the 10K at the CAC Championships this season and owns nine school records, including every race longer than 1,000-meters and the javelin.

Burris was also a two-year letterwinner for the softball team, enabling her to earn 20 varsity awards in her Wesley career.

Among her numerous service and leadership contributions, Burris assisted in the care for a patient with Parkinson's Disease, tutored fellow Wesley students, sponsored a child for a holiday season party, created a DVD for the Wolverines' club ice hockey team and donated time and money to various charities.

The Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

Every year, the NCAA encourages each member college and university to honor its top one or two graduating female student-athletes by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

Each conference then selects one or two women from the nominees to represent the conference. Those names are then sent to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 10 honorees in each division.

From among those 30 candidates, the selection committee determines the top three in each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will then vote from among the finalists to determine the 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The top 30 honorees will be honored, and the 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on Oct. 20.